Maximum Gain, Effective Area, and Directivity

Fundamental bounds on antenna gain are found via convex optimization of the current density in a prescribed region. Various constraints are considered, including self-resonance and only partial control of the current distribution. Derived formulas are valid for arbitrarily shaped radiators of a given conductivity. All the optimization tasks are reduced to eigenvalue problems, which are solved efficiently. The second part of the paper deals with superdirectivity and its associated minimal costs in efficiency and Q-factor. The paper is accompanied with a series of examples practically demonstrating the relevance of the theoretical framework and entirely spanning wide range of material parameters and electrical sizes used in antenna technology. Presented results are analyzed from a perspective of effectively radiating modes. In contrast to a common approach utilizing spherical modes, the radiating modes of a given body are directly evaluated and analyzed here. All crucial mathematical steps are reviewed in the appendices, including a series of important subroutines to be considered making it possible to reduce the computational burden associated with the evaluation of electrically large structures and structures of high conductivity.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figures, submitted to TA

Physical bounds and radiation modes for MIMO antennas

Modern antenna design for communication systems revolves around two extremes: devices, where only a small region is dedicated to antenna design, and base stations, where design space is not shared with other components. Both imply different restrictions on what performance is realizable. In this paper properties of both ends of the spectrum in terms of MIMO performance is investigated. For electrically small antennas the size restriction dominates the performance parameters. The regions dedicated to antenna design induce currents on the rest of the device. Here a method for studying fundamental bound on spectral efficiency of such configurations is presented. This bound is also studied for $N$-degree MIMO systems. For electrically large structures the number of degrees of freedom available per unit area is investigated for different shapes. Both of these are achieved by formulating a convex optimization problem for maximum spectral efficiency in the current density on the antenna. A computationally efficient solution for this problem is formulated and investigated in relation to constraining parameters, such as size and efficiency

Q factors for antennas in dispersive media

Stored energy and Q-factors are used to quantify the performance of small antennas. Accurate and efficient evaluation of the stored energy is also essential for current optimization and the associated physical bounds. Here, it is shown that the frequency derivative of the input impedance and the stored energy can be determined from the frequency derivative of the electric field integral equation. The expressions for the differentiated input impedance and stored energies differ by the use of a transpose and Hermitian transpose in the quadratic forms. The quadratic forms also provide simple single frequency formulas for the corresponding Q-factors. The expressions are further generalized to antennas integrated in temporally dispersive media. Numerical examples that compare the different Q-factors are presented for dipole and loop antennas in conductive, Debye, Lorentz, and Drude media. The computed Q-factors are also verified with the Q-factor obtained from the stored energy in Brune synthesized circuit models

Stored energies for electric and magnetic current densities

Electric and magnetic current densities are an essential part of electromagnetic theory. The goal of the present paper is to define and investigate stored energies that are valid for structures that can support both electric and magnetic current densities. Stored energies normalized with the dissipated power give us the Q factor, or antenna Q, for the structure. Lower bounds of the Q factor provide information about the available bandwidth for passive antennas that can be realized in the structure. The definition that we propose is valid beyond the leading order small antenna limit. Our starting point is the energy density with subtracted far-field form which we obtain an explicit and numerically attractive current density representation. This representation gives us the insight to propose a coordinate independent stored energy. Furthermore, we find here that lower bounds on antenna Q for structures with e.g. electric dipole radiation can be formulated as convex optimization problems. We determine lower bounds on both open and closed surfaces that support electric and magnetic current densities. The here derived representation of stored energies has in its electrical small limit an associated Q factor that agrees with known small antenna bounds. These stored energies have similarities to earlier efforts to define stored energies. However, one of the advantages with this method is the above mentioned formulation as convex optimization problems, which makes it easy to predict lower bounds for antennas of arbitrary shapes. The present formulation also gives us insight into the components that contribute to Chu's lower bound for spherical shapes. We utilize scalar and vector potentials to obtain a compact direct derivation of these stored energies. Examples and comparisons end the paper.Comment: Minor updates to figures and tex

Stored Electromagnetic Energy and Antenna Q

Decomposition of the electromagnetic energy into its stored and radiated parts is instrumental in the evaluation of antenna Q and the corresponding fundamental limitations on antennas. This decomposition is not unique and there are several proposals in the literature. Here, it is shown that stored energy defined from the difference between the energy density and the far field energy equals the new energy expressions proposed by Vandenbosch for many cases. This also explains the observed cases with negative stored energy and suggests a possible remedy to them. The results are compared with the classical explicit expressions for spherical regions where the results only differ by ka that is interpreted as the far-field energy in the interior of the sphere. Numerical results of the Q-factors for dipole, loop, and inverted L-antennas are also compared with estimates from circuit models and differentiation of the impedance. The results indicate that the stored energy in the field agrees with the stored energy in the Brune synthesized circuit models whereas the differentiated impedance gives a lower value for some cases. The corresponding results for the bandwidth suggest that the inverse proportionality between bandwidth and Q depends on the relative bandwidth or equivalent the threshold of the reflection coefficient. The Q from the differentiated impedance and stored energy are most useful for relative narrow and wide bandwidths, respectively

Bandwidth-Constrained Capacity Bounds and Degrees of Freedom for MIMO Antennas

The optimal spectral efficiency and number of independent channels for MIMO antennas in isotropic multipath channels are investigated when bandwidth requirements are placed on the antenna. By posing the problem as a convex optimization problem restricted by the port Q-factor a semi-analytical expression is formed for its solution. The antennas are simulated by method of moments and the solution is formulated both for structures fed by discrete ports, as well as for design regions characterized by an equivalent current. It is shown that the solution is solely dependent on the eigenvalues of the so-called energy modes of the antenna. The magnitude of these eigenvalues is analyzed for a linear dipole array as well as a plate with embedded antenna regions. The energy modes are also compared to the characteristic modes to validate characteristic modes as a design strategy for MIMO antennas. The antenna performance is illustrated through spectral efficiency over the Q-factor, a quantity that is connected to the capacity. It is proposed that the number of energy modes below a given Q-factor can be used to estimate the degrees of freedom for that Q-factor.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figure

Stored energies in electric and magnetic current densities for small antennas

Electric and magnetic currents are essential to describe electromagnetic stored energy, as well as the associated quantities of antenna Q and the partial directivity to antenna Q-ratio, D/Q, for general structures. The upper bound of previous D/Q-results for antennas modeled by electric currents is accurate enough to be predictive, this motivates us here to extend the analysis to include magnetic currents. In the present paper we investigate antenna Q bounds and D/Q-bounds for the combination of electric- and magnetic-currents, in the limit of electrically small antennas. This investigation is both analytical and numerical, and we illustrate how the bounds depend on the shape of the antenna. We show that the antenna Q can be associated with the largest eigenvalue of certain combinations of the electric and magnetic polarizability tensors. The results are a fully compatible extension of the electric only currents, which come as a special case. The here proposed method for antenna Q provides the minimum Q-value, and it also yields families of minimizers for optimal electric and magnetic currents that can lend insight into the antenna design.Comment: 27 pages 7 figure

Time-domain approach to the forward scattering sum rule

The forward scattering sum rule relates the extinction cross section integrated over all wavelengths with the polarizability dyadics. It is useful for deriving bounds on the interaction between scatterers and electromagnetic fields, antenna bandwidth and directivity and energy transmission through sub-wavelength apertures. The sum rule is valid for linearly polarized plane waves impinging on linear, passive and time translational invariant scattering objects in free space. Here, a time-domain approach is used to clarify the derivation and the used assumptions. The time-domain forward scattered field defines an impulse response. Energy conservation shows that this impulse response is the kernel of a passive convolution operator, which implies that the Fourier transform of the impulse response is a Herglotz function. The forward scattering sum rule is finally constructed from integral identities for Herglotz functions